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April 30, 2007
Texas Tech Roots Run Deep
Arbor Day brings the campus community together.
Written by Gretchen Pressley
Ashley Shook said Arbor Day is a chance for organizations from all over the university to come together and have fun.
Ashley Shook has dirt on her hands and a smile on her face.
A junior landscape architecture major, Shook is a member of the Arbor Day Committee, put together to organize Arbor Day activities on campus. Texas Tech University celebrated Arbor Day beginning at noon on Friday, April 27 at Memorial Circle.
“Arbor Day is great for bringing many organizations together to benefit the school,” Shook said. “Together, we make the school look beautiful and celebrate the end of the school year.”
The committee met multiple times starting two months before Arbor Day. They developed T-shirt designs, events for the day, found companies willing to donate money or plants, distributed signs around campus and much more.
“The big project this year is to plant tall fountain grasses around the new lights on Memorial Circle,” Shook said. “We organize the whole day around the presentation, then we split off into groups to plant all over campus.”
The band PBM started the planting festivities with music. A short presentation followed and various student organizations were honored for their accomplishments. All around Memorial Circle, volunteers offered food, activities and free t-shirts to registered students.
Jack Neinken, regional manager from Apple, also said a few words about the importance of the university partnership to Apple.
Apple Planted at Texas Tech
Fans of Apple iPods were in for a treat this Arbor Day, as representatives from Apple, Inc. and Texas Tech's Office of Communications and Marketing kicked off the events with a news conference in the library at 11 a.m. President Jon Whitmore announced the new partnership with Apple and showed the audience the new Web page for iTunes University.
“Not only will iTunes U at Texas Tech University allow our students and faculty to submit their own video and audio tracks to a medium that our students and potential students use extensively, but it also gives us the opportunity to show the world what's going on at this dynamic university,” Whitmore said. “This major project allows us to use new media to better market ourselves and our events.”
Students flocked to the iTunes University booth for a chance to win Apple products.
Apple and the Office of Communications and Marketing distributed free Apple T-shirts, and members of the Texas Tech community registered to win one of several iPod Shuffles, an Apple TV or a ball signed by Mike Leach or Kristy Curry.
Keep Texas Tech Green
When Texas Tech first started, most of the available funds went towards the maintaining and constructing of classroom buildings, but the campus was barren of any greenery.
Depressed by the bare grounds, President Bradford Knapp decided to dedicate one day every spring to beautify the campus. On March 2, 1938, classes were dismissed at 12 p.m. and students, staff and faculty planted shrubs, hedges and 50 varieties of trees from the Texas Tech nursery, all arranged according to a carefully calculated map that divided the campus into five sections. On the first day of the now annual tradition, over 20,000 trees and other greenery were planted.
The Arbor Day tradition continued without change for another 10 years, until funds became available to hire a landscape architect. Elo Urbanovsky took the position and continued transforming the campus. Urbanovsky Park, located next to the United Spirit Arena, honors the beauty he brought to the Texas Tech campus.
Jana Vise, assistant director for Student Union & Activities, said the Arbor Day celebration is open to everyone on campus.
The major project this year was to plant fountain grass beside the new lights on Memorial Circle.
“Arbor Day is the one time of year where everyone on campus comes together to celebrate Texas Tech and what a beautiful campus we have,” Vise said. “It’s the one occasion where all of the organizations – Greek, academic, multicultural, even departments – are out planting side by side.”
Many students come out to enjoy the beautiful Lubbock weather and benefit from the activities, before separating into groups and helping make the Texas Tech campus green. Since finals begin the week after, Arbor Day is the last school event for students to celebrate before the semester ends, Shook said.
“My favorite part is how everything comes together at the end,” Shook said. “I love seeing how revamped and beautiful our school is afterwards.”
Sponsors of Arbor Day are Student Union & Activities and the Arbor Day student and staff committees. Find out more about Texas Tech's historical Arbor Day on the Arbor Day tradition page.
For more information about iTunes University, read the iTunes U release.
Story produced by the Office of Communications and Marketing, 806-742-2136.
Web layout by Gretchen Pressley